HGAR HUDSON GATEWAY ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS, INC. HUDSON GATEWAY ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS, INC. 60 South Broadway, White Plains, New York 10601 914.681.0833 Fax 914.681.6044 www.hgar.com 9 Coates Drive, Suite 1, Goshen, New York 10924 845.294.7905 2 Medical Park Drive, Suite 17A, West Nyack, New York 10994 845.735.0075 October 9, 2013 2013 THIRD QUARTER RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE SALES REPORT Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Orange Counties, New York Third quarter residential real estate closings soared by nearly 29% over last year s counts in the four counties serviced by the Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service, a subsidiary of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors. The MLS received postings of 4,579 completed sales of single family houses, condominiums, cooperatives, and 2-4 family dwellings. The percentage increase was the greatest in Westchester County, at 31%, followed by Rockland (26%), Orange (24%) and Putnam (22%). In most cases the increases among the various property classes brought the sales counts to pre-recession levels. In Westchester, for example, the 1,991 reported closings of single family houses during this third quarter were the most for any quarter since 2005. In all of the counties except Rockland, sales of condominiums and cooperatives outpaced single family houses as a percentage increase over last year. REALTOR is a registered mark which identifies a professional in real estate who subscribes to a strict Code of Ethics as a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS.
Even with the slower but still healthy sales counts of the first six months of the year, on a year to date basis through this third quarter, 2013 is running faster than last year by rates ranging from 24% in Westchester and Orange to 17% in Putnam and 16% in Rockland. Whereas there were 11,481 total sales in all categories in all of 2012, at the current rate of activity the region may cross the 14,000 sale threshold by the end of 2013. The region is beginning to see modest price increases more often than not. In Westchester, the third quarter median sale price 1 - $652,050 was 3.5% more than last year. The average (mean) sale price 1 of $$862,356, however, was almost 8% higher and signaled the insertion of more high end properties into the sales mix. More than 24% of Westchester s houses sold for $1 million or more in the third quarter in comparison to a range of 16% to 22% throughout last year. Rockland County experienced the largest percentage price increase, 5.4%, in its single family median price, taking it to $410,000. Putnam posted the next largest increase, 5.0%, with a median price of $332,750. Putnam also posted a large 6.9% increase in condominium prices (but its data are subject to large percentage swings because its base counts are relatively small). Only Orange County failed to post an increase in house prices; in fact, the median sale price of $240,000 was 2.0% lower than last year. However, Orange County provides the most affordable housing in the region and attracts buyers who are the most price sensitive, which gives lower price housing there a larger share of the market basket, at least for now. Note that Orange s condominium sector, a lower priced alternative to single family houses, posted a 4.4% increase to $166,000 in its median price All the faster paced activity has driven inventory to low but not market-killing amounts. New listings just haven t been keeping pace with sales. In Westchester at the end of the quarter, inventory was down 11% from last year. Putnam and Rockland both posted 3% decreases. Orange County inventory was nearly unchanged with a slight half-percent increase.
The supporting framework for continued recovery in our region s real estate market includes mortgage interest rates that have remained at relatively low levels. The average rate on a conventional 30-year mortgage was less than 4% during much of the period that generated the third quarter sales. Rates are now hovering around 4.6%-4.8%, still very attractive. Of course that could all change if the current political dysfunction in Washington causes a debt crisis. Actions of the Federal Reserve could also drive rates up, but for now the interest rates are stable and affordable. Also supporting the real estate market is the steady though painfully slow improvement in the rate of unemployment. All four counties in the MLS region have experienced a decline in the unemployment rate in the past year. The most recent rates available from the N.Y.S. Department of Labor are 5.8% for Putnam, 6.0% for Rockland, 6.3% for Westchester, and 7.3% for Orange all at least one percentage point less than last year, and all lower than the national and state rates. The third quarter data largely reflect closings that followed upon listing and marketing activity in the spring and early summer months. There was, and remains, a great deal of pent up demand since the 2008 recession and its greatest impact on our local real estate market in 2010. It appears there is enough demand to continue to power the market going forward as long as there is no national self inflicted economic convulsion. The Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service, Inc. (HGMLS) is a subsidiary of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors, Inc. (HGAR). The MLS s principal service territory consists of Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Orange Counties. It also provides services to Realtors operating in Bronx, Dutchess, Sullivan and Ulster Counties. The reported transactions do not include all real estate sales in the area or all sales assisted by the participating offices but they are fairly reflective of general market conditions. HGMLS does not provide data on sub-county geographic areas. Persons desiring sub-county data are invited to contact participating real estate offices in the desired areas. Any text or data from this report may be reprinted with attribution to Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service, Inc. as the source. Prior reports dating back to 1981 are available on the Realtor Association s website, www.hgar.com; click on Market Statistics. A membership directory searchable by municipality is also available on that site. 1 The median sale price is the mid-point of all reported sales, i.e., half of the properties sold for more than the median price and half for less. The median is relatively unaffected by unusually low or high sale prices. The mean sale price is the arithmetic average, i.e., the sum of all sales prices divided by the number of sales. The mean does reflect the influence of sales at unusually low or high prices. Four County data tables follow next page
WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY 3RD QUARTER & YEAR TO DATE Single Family Houses 1,216 1,326 1,534 1,991 29.8% Condominiums 229 231 276 372 34.8% Cooperatives 255 302 339 469 38.3% 2-4 Family 96 85 94 111 18.1% Total 1,796 1,944 2,243 2,943 31.2% Single Family Houses 3,165 3,032 3,415 4,205 23.1% Condominiums 724 629 711 883 24.2% Cooperatives 1,011 856 905 1,147 26.7% 2-4 Family 282 257 251 304 21.1% Total 5,182 4,774 5,282 6,539 23.8% Single Family Houses 730,250 684,005 630,000 652,050 3.5% Condominiums 346,138 337,500 349,750 355,500 1.6% Cooperatives 179,000 166,011 155,000 155,000 0.0% 2-4 Family 298,058 350,000 313,000 395,000 26.2% Single Family Houses 924,747 884,409 801,023 862,356 7.7% Condominiums 392,582 427,370 374,470 425,963 13.8% Cooperatives 207,865 194,309 183,601 189,079 3.0% 2-4 Family 307,565 361,795 335,810 393,840 17.3% END OF QUARTER (9/30) INVENTORY Single Family Houses 4,328 4,077 3,670 3,328-9.3% Condominiums 911 874 650 507-22.0% Cooperatives 1,510 1,612 1,554 1,422-8.5% 2-4 Family 596 561 524 432-17.6% Total 7,345 7,124 6,398 5,689-11.1%
PUTNAM COUNTY, NY 3RD QUARTER & YEAR TO DATE Single Family Houses 132 145 191 226 18.3% Condos & Co-ops 10 15 16 26 62.5% Total 142 160 207 252 21.7% Single Family Houses 440 406 463 524 13.2% Condos & Co-ops 47 51 52 77 48.1% Total 487 457 515 601 16.7% Single Family Houses 330,000 330,000 317,000 332,750 5.0% Condos & Co-ops 179,500 224,000 167,500 179,000 6.9% Single Family Houses 396,970 379,593 374,848 378,275 0.9% Condos & Co-ops 191,090 267,298 190,906 189,123-0.9% END OF QUARTER (9/30) INVENTORY Single Family Houses 964 937 841 832-1.1% Condos & Co-ops 122 131 104 86-17.3% Total 1,086 1,068 945 918-2.9% ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY 3RD QUARTER & YEAR TO DATE Single Family Houses 310 333 407 521 28.0% Condos & Co-ops 87 108 108 127 17.6% Total 397 441 515 648 25.8% Single Family Houses 905 828 930 1,098 18.1% Condos & Co-ops 331 271 295 322 9.2% Total 1,236 1,099 1,225 1,420 15.9% Single Family Houses 425,000 418,000 388,825 410,000 5.4% Condos & Co-ops 260,000 236,500 215,000 240,000 11.6% Single Family Houses 466,221 462,020 417,800 459,609 10.0% Condos & Co-ops 271,840 255,499 234,224 267,167 14.1% END OF QUARTER (9/30) INVENTORY Single Family Houses 1,356 1,336 1,183 1,139-3.7% Condos & Co-ops 513 524 360 361 0.3% Total 1,869 1,860 1,543 1,500-2.8%
ORANGE COUNTY, NY 3RD QTR & YEAR TO DATE Single Family Houses 429 446 520 643 23.7% Condos & Co-ops 59 79 73 93 27.4% Total 488 525 593 736 24.1% Single Family Houses 1,024 941 1,254 1,563 24.6% Condos & Co-ops 303 249 205 246 20.0% Total 1,327 1,190 1,459 1,809 24.0% Single Family Houses 268,500 255,720 245,000 240,000-2.0% Condos & Co-ops 190,500 170,000 159,000 166,000 4.4% Single Family Houses 295,083 287,027 268,984 264,078-1.8% Condos & Co-ops 198,434 178,361 172,050 172,701 0.4% END OF QUARTER (6/30) INVENTORY Single Family Houses 3,040 3,005 2,785 2,794 0.3% Condos & Co-ops 506 431 330 338 2.4% Total 3,546 3,436 3,115 3,132 0.5% END